New Kid....John Willy

Yes, the obligatory introductions section, but serves a good purpose - like a good, soft toilet paper - used only once but truly wonderful! "Here's to you and here's to me, may we never disagree - if perchance we ever do, here's to me and to hell with you!"
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John Willy
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New Kid....John Willy

Post by John Willy »

Hello All,

Definitely not a kid in years....63. Most definitely a kid as regards drinking better rums neat.

I have very recently started a collection of rums. See my list on the Scuttlebutt forum under 'It's my Birthday and....Want to'. The famous last line of Casablanca comes to mind, "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Of course my wife doesn't see the point or agree. I am not deterred, although maybe 20 bottles, got to have variety and references, would be about max. I am not now nor have I ever been a big drinker by any stretch. Once I got by that 40 year rum and Coca-Cola thing, mostly with cheap Bacardi, I tried a shot of the squat bottle good Pampero Aniversario in a 8oz tumbler. Damn, this stuff has potential I said to myself. I do think there are new tricks to teach this old dog.

I don't intend to necessarily stick with the same 20 individual specific rums. Hopefully as a bottle nears the bottom I will have begun to expand my taste profile and experience new possibilities. This could really be some hard work. :D

I do have one thing to say about myself that is a 'warning' regarding any opinions I may express on this site about a rum. The short story is in 1988 I split my skull open front to back. A result was my olfactory nerve was destroyed and that I would never smell again.....FRINKEN DOCTORS WERE WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! Not initially, geez food tasted like sh-t. The upshot was that my smell slowly came back, BUT different. It took me years to re-acquire my taste for some foods, but they all tasted different. I still smell and taste things differently. I had to relearn what smells were and most difficult was trying to erase those pre-injury taste memories. It still screws with me. The point is that much subtlety has been lost in both my 'nose' and 'palate'. So if I go beyond saying I like or dislike a rum, please take this into account. I will not be a goto source for any information regarding smell and taste profiles.

I have rambled enough. I look forward to learning from you folks.

Regards,
John
Last edited by John Willy on Sun Sep 16, 2012 8:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by da'rum »

Bit late but , Hello,

That whole cracking your melon open doesn't sound too great. What smells do you mostly recognise? Are rums now mostly just levels of sweetness or do you pick up subtler notes?

How did you manage to bust your head? (if you don't mind telling the story)
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I'm so sorry...

Post by Capn Jimbo »

I'm so sorry...


Willy, so sorry to hear of your accident - I had no idea you knew my ex-wife! I'm very curious about your recovery...

1. Could you remember smells from before the accident?

2. Were the new smells different from the old? How so?

3. What smells came back first? Which later? How did things develop?

4. As far as rum is concerned what rum appeals to you most right now and why?
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Post by John Willy »

da'rum,

I would say most if not all smells are there for me. All different than before. A few less appealing than before. Definitely many with a loss of subtlety. I am not the person you want to pony up $100 for a nice French 5 course meal sandwiched around a few $150 bottles of wine. Mind you, I would enjoy it, but a degree of the nuance of the seasonings in the food and the appropriate pairing of the wines with the food and the complexities of fine wine would be lost to me to some extent. To exactly define to you how much and what is lost is impossible for me. Remember, if I have not said so already, the skull fracture was about 24 yeas ago. I would not allow anyone to drop that kind of money on me because of my perception that it would largely be a waste. It truly is somewhat frustrating to know you are missing out, so you make do with the tools you have.

The story (: I told my wife I was going out back to grab some more firewood. The next thing I remember is laying in an ICU at a local hospital and a doctor threatening me to shove a tube down my throat to force feed me. I went 'drunk sailor' on him, using ever foul disgusting remark regarding where he could insert things, what he could insert there, what to do with when once in place, and that was the first salvo. I didn't stop until he had vacated the ICU. There were other patients there, nurses, doctors and my wife. I then turned to my wife and said what the fu*k am I doing here?. She explained I had gone to get firewood and had been gone a while so she came out back and found me on the cement slab just outside the back porch and down 3 steps. When the paramedics arrived she said I was talking to them. They had asked me did my head always look like that. I guess from the top of my forehead to the back of the top of my head the skin was raised in a large ridge, kind of like a rooster's comb. 'Liquids' seeping out through the fracture because of the pressure inside. I was telling them yeah (: Anyway 2 months pretty much lost except for a few memories. Back to work and up to speed with no apparent effect other than the MRI pics showed pretty extensive damage mostly towards the front of my brain. It is really part of a 44 year saga that began when I was 19 and is just one piece of the puzzle of my life.

Over the years I have found we all have stories to tell, fights we have fought or continue to fight, obstacles we have overcome, victories to be proud of, decisions we have made or not made....right and wrong, and regrets....some big some small. In the end it's just life. It's not supposed to be fair or make sense. It's a short trip on a big rock.

I do run on. My apologies! Thanks for listening. I enjoy the freedom to cut loose and say what I want on many topics of interest to me, a pleasure I lost when my discussions with wifey became the same as talking to a lamppost. One thing I refuse to refrain from is 'salty' language in my own home. I suppose it is a bit like a dog marking it's territory. (:

I ran on so long I forgot to respond to the sweetness and/or subtle notes question. Good question. Some sweetness seems over-the-top now compared to the sweetness I now taste. Other forms of sweetness are just the opposite. If that is confusing to you, it confuses me too and has much to do with what and how I eat sweet things. Artificial sweeteners seem very 'chemical' and contrived, so my experience is limited because my interest in experimenting ended quickly. To be honest, before the injury I didn't like artificial sweeteners and less so after. As to my experience with rum to this point my approach has been is the overall sensation pleasant. Basically, I was looking more for negatives in a general sense rather than the degree of sweetness or any kind of nuance. Extremely rum-ignorant and just utterly surprised that any liquor neat could be this enjoyable. That's how I ended up here. I needed to be educated.

Always happy to answer questions regarding myself or my soon to begin new approach towards rum.

Regards,
John
Last edited by John Willy on Sun Sep 16, 2012 10:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by John Willy »

Capn',

You want her back? (:

1) Yes, I could remember smells from before the accident. Smells are a part of your memories. I think most of us have smells that trigger memories of feelings, people, places and moments in time. The issue for me was that, while I still retained smell memories, by relying on the 'old' memories I might have a terrible urge for a soft ice cream hot-fudge sunday with whipped cream and nuts. I can smell and taste it as I type. If I were to score one, first smell and/or taste I would be thinking "You dumb shit, those 'old' memories don't work anymore". Eventually you stop gong back for a lot of things because the 'old' memories offered so much more promise than the new smell and taste provide. I think consciously or subconsciously I prefer in may instances to retain the 'old' memories rather than go through the disappointment of the 'new' reality.

2)They are definitely different and that also impacts taste. It's kind of like '2 birds with one stone', but not in a good way. For me to try and describe a difference to you would be like trying to explain the color blue to you if you have been blind your whole life. I suppose if I sat with an extremely knowledgeable individual with serious palate and great nose, think rum tasting (:, and first this person said smell it and describe to me what you are smelling as they were doing the same thing at the same time. As I described my smells they could begin to decipher how what I was smelling correlated with their smells. Same for tastes. Now I would envision this not being a one and done exercise. In concept it sounds simple, but it would be like both persons learning 2 new languages and to translate both new languages back into their 2 native tongues. A two way street. It could take months of rum tasting....oh the horror! (:

3)I have never been asked those questions....good job Capn'. I think the first smell that came back was garlic, followed by bananas. It might have been a taste thing, I don't remember. Hated the 'new' smell and taste of both. They smelled like strong chemicals, the kind you snap your head back from when you get a whiff. Previously I had loved both. Within a few years I was loving my 'new' garlic. It took much longer for bananas. They and everything are different now, even chocolate, dark chocolate (spent most of my 20s in Europe and other places, so milk chocolate became a non-starter), something else America was late to discovering. So I am haunted by the 'old' smell and taste of quality dark chocolate. It was and sometimes today is a slow process of trying to establish new memory profiles for things that previously were familiar but are now different. The frequency of experiencing smells has much to do with growing more accustomed to the change. Now if I smell something I have never smelled before, that is easier because I don't have a competing memory. That is why I am excited about rum. I have only in the past year or two gotten by the rum & coke thing. Mostly crappy Bacardi, but about 7 or 8 years ago I started adding some 'good' rum to coke. Holy shit , Batman! Then about a year ago I had some Pampero Aniversario and Barbancourt 5 star neat. Double holy shit, Batman! You have to understand, descent rum is new for me. No previous 'old' memories to interfere. Yeah, and your ex can't figure that out (:

4)I can tell you what I have enjoyed neat, the Pampero Aniversario, still almost all the bottle left, Barbancourt 5 star, 1 bottle gone and been replaced, one of the lesser Brugals, won't replace, 1 Gosling's Black Seal gone, replaced with Coruba Jamaican just to try. I can't give much info about likes and dislikes. I wasn't at that point yet. It was do I enjoy it or not. Here goes. Pampero (by the way I believe I have called this 'Pompano' (: several times on this site, just a beginner) I enjoyed but that's all I can say. When I revisit it will be with a different approach.
Barbancourt smooth, easy, gentle. Brugal stiff, too much alchohol taste, rough, not interested. Black Seal, big taste, flavor was there for me but don't ask me to describe it.

Sit down with a nice glass or two of a rum of your pleasure and reread with an open mind. The concepts are simple, but very few get it or even make the effort to get it. Your questions hit right on the mark. Never been asked most of them before. It's been a pleasure and treat for me to try and share and explain.

I am always willing to clarify or attempt to explain what may be unclear, confusing or seeming nonsense.

Regards,
John
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Post by da'rum »

Thanks, for the reply. Interesting story and a bit frightening as well.

Barbancourt is a fantastic rum and it's not a surprise that it's one that you like.

It's going to be interesting to hear your thoughts as you go along.
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

A big thanks...


You have an amazing story to tell, and we all owe you our thanks for taking so much time and effort to share it with us. It is interesting that Barbancourt works for you, which may suggest that you'd do well with other earthy and relatively dry rums also made from cane juice, or perhaps a nice reposado tequila or light gold mescal.

Thank you again, for your time and detail!
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Post by John Willy »

I appreciated and enjoyed the questions from both yourself and da'rum. It was pure joy trying to give understandable answers. Very few people possess the 'attachments' to hang it out there and ask meaningful questions that force me to think long and hard about what it is I am experiencing and then try to communicate that to others. I have become 'rusty' because so few care and even fewer want to know. The consequence is that I have the opportunity to clear away the cobwebs and think about the bigger picture. You guys do me a big one and I am indebted.
Regards,
John
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Post by NCyankee »

Wow I just read your story, very glad you found something to get you interested again.

I was wondering - have you tried any of the most potent tasting liquors, the Islay Scotches? Laphroaig 10 yr would be a good one because it's the most flavorful and least pricey of the basic "peat-monster" Islays, and one of my favorites (though that doesn't go for everyone). It would be interesting to know how your "new" senses respond to this onslaught of peat and smoke ;-)
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Post by John Willy »

I have never been around 'good' scotch. Most of my friends/acquaintances that have begun to abuse 'the bottle' have done so with scotch or vodka. It is a slow sad process. Some are no longer here. Also, 'da-kind' is out of my reach $$$ wise. I think with my limited drinking overall to add even more expensive distillates to the equation would drive wifey to violence and me to a home-protection shotgun....20" barrel 20 gauge Mossberg semi-auto filled with #3 shot, not sure if I would go with magnums or just stick with 2.5" rounds....of course 2.5" would allow one more round, just a thought. :wink:
Regards,
John
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Post by NCyankee »

That's the beauty of laphroaig 10 yr, depending on where you are located - it can be found for around $30-35 a bottle in california, and at that price it is one of the great liquor bargains. Also a hard one to abuse because it is a real palate wrecker and I find I can only drink a couple ounces at a time.
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Post by John Willy »

NCyankee, your thoughtful recommendation has been noted and cataloged. Wifey is splitting for Cambodia and Thailand for about 6 weeks in 9 days. Part of me says "Couldn't you have booked an earlier flight" and the other part says "You cold-hearted Bitch, leaving a crippled old man alone. Toss her overboard!". Dazed and confused, old and crippled, it's a blast. If you are young enough or healthy enough take to your wings and FLY. I have never regretted spending most of my 20's outside the US. I am certainly not capable of doing such a thing now. For many those 'Golden Years' are just propaganda we were fed as 'kids'.

You can start calling me 'Preacher John'. :lol:

Regards,
Da Preacher
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Post by da'rum »

Laphroaig is a heavy hitter (read 'very peaty') for a first try, even if you've had extensive renovations on your noggin.

I'd go for a more floral and fruity whisky like a Bruichladdich (2nd edition). ($35-$40)

Just hide the bottle behind the rum bottles wifey will be none the wiser.

Just don't drink more than 3 drams a day more than 4 days a week and you'll stay healthy and unalcoholismised.
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Post by John Willy »

Thanks again, da'rum. All advice and methods noted. I will maybe someday make that leap, but at the moment my tiny brain is capable only of single-tasking. I am thinking that scotch will have to wait it's turn. Maybe a bottle for future investigation, but at the moment my focus is on 'da' rum.
Regards,
John
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Post by da'rum »

Fair enough JW, plenty of variety in rum styles and tastes to keep you happy. If I had to choose one booze and forego all others the Rum would win.
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